Il Canto

The story

Crafted with passion, served with love

A Historic Setting Outside Siena

La Certosa di Maggiano, a former monastery on the outskirts of Siena, provides the backdrop for Il Canto — a restaurant that earned a place among the world's finest three years running, appearing in The World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2010, 2011, and 2012. The setting alone is extraordinary: guests dine beneath historic vaulted ceilings or on an open terrace looking out over the quiet Tuscan countryside, with outdoor seating that makes the most of the Sienese landscape.

Italian Cuisine Rooted in the Land

The kitchen's philosophy is grounded in seasonal and local ingredients, with Tuscan tradition serving as both foundation and inspiration. The menu reflects a genuine commitment to the region — dishes draw on the produce, flavors, and techniques of the surrounding countryside rather than reaching for novelty for its own sake.

The tasting menus illustrate the range well. The fish menu opens with a maritozzo filled with whipped salt cod, confit cherry tomatoes, and pepper jam, moves through gnocchi with pumpkin cream and red prawn tartare, then paccheri pasta in a Livorno-style fish stew with lemon and parsley oil, before finishing with crispy-skin amberjack alongside a vegetable ratatouille roll. The meat menu takes a distinctly Tuscan path: fried polenta with chicken liver paté, black truffle, and figs; caramelle pasta filled with ossobuco in a saffron Parmigiano fondue; tagliatelle with venison ragù and red berry powder; and lamb served with a stuffed white onion. A vegetarian menu runs alongside, featuring dishes like the traditional Tuscan onion soup known as carabaccia, and a smoked cauliflower cream finished over olive wood with a miso reduction — a quiet nod to broader influences without abandoning the Italian kitchen's core.

The Wider Experience

Beyond the restaurant, the property houses the Magnolia Bar — where cocktails are served in the shade of a centuries-old magnolia tree — and a breakfast terrace where mornings unfold slowly beneath wisteria. The ethos of the place, captured in the phrase "slow down with gentleness," runs through every part of the experience. For those seeking Italian cuisine at the level that draws international attention, Il Canto at La Certosa di Maggiano remains one of Tuscany's most compelling tables.